SpaceX is building an offshore rocket launch facility
SpaceX plans to launch rockets from a new facility several miles offshore.
A SpaceX job posting went up asking for an engineer to help "design and build an operational offshore rocket launch facility." On Twitter, CEO Elon Musk said SpaceX was building "superheavy-class spaceports" to launch craft to Mars and the moon, and for "hypersonic travel around Earth."
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The job is based in Brownsville, Texas, near where SpaceX already has a land-based launch center in Boca Chica. The post also asks for "previous experience living or working offshore, or professional experience in the marine/offshore industry."
We reached out to SpaceX for more details on the project, but didn't immediately hear back.
Musk further explained on Twitter that the spaceport would need to be far enough from land to not disturb people (and presumably nature and wildlife) during launches and landings. The job also says you have to be willing to "work on an offshore platform."
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And in true Musk fashion, he teased a short turnaround for Earth-to-Earth test flights: two to three years.
Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.
